Buildings Initiatives

 

Y2E2 Docent Program

Since its inauguration in March 2008, the Jerry Yang and Akiko Yamazaki Environment and Energy Building (Y2E2) has been a popular tour site for students, researchers, corporate executives, and donors as a landmark of sustainability in building design. Jeff Koseff, Professor of Civil and Environmental Engineering and Co-Director of the Woods Institute for the Environment, and Fahmida Ahmed, Manager of Sustainability Programs, have developed a volunteer docent training program that teaches docents about the building’s history, design, and function. The training also provides docents with an understanding of environmental sustainability and how it is manifested at Stanford.

All are welcome to sign up for this program.

If interested in attending a future scheduled training session, please send an email to Fahmida Ahmed.

Building Level Sustainability Pilot Program

The Office of Sustainability, in collaboration with Zones Management, is designing a building-level Sustainability program that will incorporate occupant-led resource conservation projects into a holistic building rating system for all existing buildings on campus. The program is currently a pilot . The first pilot at an office building was completed in May and the next two are being prepared to become active in summer. The inaugural pilot was Green 170, the success and best practices of which have informed additional pilots. To learn more about Green 170, click here.

Green 170

The Green 170 pilot has shown that meaningful conservation by occupants is possible and that the results help the bottom line as well as complement building-level efficiency improvements. In Spring 2009, SWG member Tom Fenner partnered with the Office of Sustainability to initiate a pilot project to assess and quantify the potential benefits of individual actions on resource conservation at a building level. As a lead volunteer, Mr. Fenner inspired representatives from various departments in that building. Building 170 is a four-floor administrative office building in Stanford’s Main Quad (01-170). It is home to Public Affairs, the Provost’s Budget and Faculty Affairs offices, and the Office of the General Counsel. The pilot program consisted of a combination of desktop power management, installing smart power strips and timers, decommissioning unnecessary equipment, and turning off unneeded lighting to reduce the building’s electricity consumption by over 20% during a three-month period, with an estimated return on investment of less than a year. For more information and the pilot program report, contact Fahmida Ahmed.

“If we are to leave our children a better world, we must take steps now to create a sustainable environment. So it is critical that we model sustainable citizenship on our own campus.”
— John Etchemendy
Provost, Stanford University
The Energy Retrofit Program has delivered an estimated cumulative savings of over 240 million kilowatt-hours of electricity since it began in 1993—and prevented 72,000 metric tons of carbon dioxide equivalent emissions.
Stanford is developing global solutions to climate change and putting them into practice on campus.
New buildings must use 30 percent less energy and 25 percent less potable water than similar traditional buildings.
Systems retrofits to the most energy-intensive buildings on campus are expected to save $4.2 million a year and cut energy use by 28 percent.
About 40 percent of Stanford Dining produce is organic or regionally grown; some is even grown on campus.
About 60 percent of Stanford’s total contiguous land remains undeveloped.
Recycled paper is less expensive than virgin paper under the campus-wide office supply contract.
From 2002 to 2008, the percentage of Stanford employees driving alone to campus dropped from 72 to 51 percent.
Stanford diverted 64 percent of its solid waste from landfills in 2008—more than 14,500 tons.
Stanford completed 50 major water efficiency retrofit projects from 2001 through 2008, pushing down average domestic use from 2.7 million gallons per day (mgd) in 2000-01 to less than 2.3 mgd in 2007-08, despite campus growth.
The goal of Sustainable IT is to reduce the greenhouse gas emissions generated by our IT infrastructure.
The goal of Sustainable IT is to reduce the greenhouse gas emissions generated by our IT infrastructure.
Stanford invests IN sustainability through a broad range of initiatives in research, education, efficiency improvement, conservation systems, new technology, student-led projects and more.
New buildings must use 30 percent less energy and 25 percent less potable water than similar traditional buildings.
New buildings must use 30 percent less energy and 25 percent less potable water than similar traditional buildings.
Systems retrofits to the most energy-intensive buildings on campus are expected to save $4.2 million a year and cut energy use by 28 percent.
About 40 percent of Stanford Dining produce is organic or regionally grown; some is even grown on campus.
From 2002 to 2008, the percentage of Stanford employees driving alone to campus dropped from 72 to 51 percent.
Stanford diverted 64 percent of its solid waste from landfills in 2008—more than 14,500 tons.
Stanford diverted 64 percent of its solid waste from landfills in 2008—more than 14,500 tons.
The Energy Retrofit Program has delivered an estimated cumulative savings of over 240 million kilowatt-hours of electricity since it began in 1993—and prevented 72,000 metric tons of carbon dioxide equivalent emissions.
Stanford completed 50 major water efficiency retrofit projects from 2001 through 2008, pushing down average domestic use from 2.7 million gallons per day (mgd) in 2000-01 to less than 2.3 mgd in 2007-08, despite campus growth.
New buildings must use 30 percent less energy and 25 percent less potable water than similar traditional buildings.